This invention relates to a portable loading ramp for a pickup truck which can be easily and quickly mounted to a hitch on a pickup truck for loading small vehicles.
Pickup trucks have boxes with the floors being substantially elevated above the ground surface, and in order to load heavy equipment such as snowmobiles and ATVs onto the truck box, the user generally would have to back the pickup truck up to a mound or an elevated piece of land such that the height of the mound or elevated piece of land is relatively the same as the height of the floor of the truck box so that the user can drive the vehicle onto the truck box. On the other hand, the user would carry a couple of planks of wood along in the truck box and would slide the planks out of the truck box and create a ramp from the ground up to the truck box. There have been other devices used to create ramps for pickup trucks.
One known prior art is a RAMP FOR LOADING SMALL MOTORIZED VEHICLES ON PICKUP TRUCKS, U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,421, issued on Oct. 20, 1987 and invented by Tommy C. Gladney et al and comprising a flexible support sheet adapted to extend from the truck box and the ground, means to secure the support sheet and the truck box the ground, and an elongate tensioning member for supporting the support sheet.
Another known prior art is a RAMP AND ENDGATE FOR PICKUP TRUCK, U.S. Pat. No. 5,342,105, issued on Aug. 30, 1994 and invented by Mark R. Miles and comprising a front and rear sections pivotally connected together and supported upon a short transverse support frame.
Another known prior art is a PICKUP TRUCK LOADING RAMP, U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,304, issued on Jan. 3, 1989 and invented by James D. Dudley and comprising a pair of hingedly connected ramp panels and a plurality of legs.
Another known prior art is a PICKUP TRUCK BED EXTENDER, RAMP AND TAILGATE, U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,638, issued on Oct. 6, 1998 and invented by William Bryan Pool, III and comprising two side frame members, a gate member, a latching means, and a pivoting control means.
Another known prior art is a COMBINATION PICKUP TRUCK BED EXTENDER-FOLDABLE RAMP, U.S. Pat. No. 5,752,800, issued on May 19, 1998 and invented by Darryl Brincks et al and comprising a mounting plate, an extension plate mounted to the mounting plate, collapsible sections, a plurality of side bed extenders, and a plurality of latches.
Another known prior art is an EXTENDABLE SUPPORT SYSTEM, U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,523, issued on Sep. 8, 1998 and invented by Jeffrey L. Clark et al and comprising a plurality of support members, a plurality of stop tabs, and a plurality of side rails.
Another known prior art is a RETRACTABLE RAMP ASSEMBLY FOR PICK-UP TRUCK, U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,619, issued on Nov. 25, 1986 and invented by Michael L. Uher and comprising a ramp means having a plurality of ramp sections, hinge means, limit means, pin locking means, and stop means.
None of the prior describes nor suggests a portable loading ramp of the present invention.